Miguel Ángel Lopez Discussion Thread

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

In the shape that he is, he should have gone to the Tour in first place but at least I hope he goes there after the Giro. The only problem with Tour route is the TTT but those high mountains are his natural habitat.

Nice overall victory from Superman.

I agree, that with minimal TT/TTT kms and with so many big names targeting the Giro, it seems a big opportunity missed for MAL not to target the TDF this year. Fulgsang is unlikely to be able to trade punches with Sky, and anyway, Astana could allow them both to enter the race as protected GC riders.

 

[This Charming Man]

A boxer and Vinoqurov protegee. An excellent climber but will be nothing in GIRO or LeTour. I think as the Vuelta has been in the last 15 years nothing but a BOOBY PRIZE. Individualists never make it to the tippy top. NEVER EVER
.

 

[Koronin]

A boxer and Vinoqurov protegee. An excellent climber but will be nothing in GIRO or LeTour. I think as the Vuelta has been in the last 15 years nothing but a BOOBY PRIZE. Individualists never make it to the tippy top. NEVER EVER
.

There are some Spaniards who target la Vuelta and do actually put it as a top goal for the year. However, it is their home Grand Tour.

 

[Bolder]

I suspect that once you set your training plan it can be hard to change it. MAL has great form now because he's targeting the Giro. If he was going for the TdF he might have the same results as Froome so far and we'd be saying stuff like "slow start, let's wait till the Dauphine/TdS to see how he is..."

But damn he has looked good!

 

[Escarabajo]

Great result for MAL today. He really surprised me. He has had some good time trials in the past like Suisse 2016, but this has to be his best.
Hope he keeps himself upright during the Giro and minimizes the losses on the punchy stages. Although, the punchy stages seem a bit mild in this Giro.

 

[KZD]

After today I really think he has a good shot at the podium. Stage 9 time trial will be very important, he needs to be close to Nibali and Yates and between 1:30 and 2min from Dumoulin and Roglic.

 

[tobydawq]

He couldn't prevent a small time loss today, but did anybody else notice his punch to the finish line? And his excellent time trial? The two things that were supposed to be his weaknesses.

I think he will have a spectacular Giro.

 

[ppanther92]

Re:

He couldn't prevent a small time loss today, but did anybody else notice his punch to the finish line? And his excellent time trial? The two things that were supposed to be his weaknesses.

I think he will have a spectacular Giro.

I start to think so too

 

[SafeBet]

He's the biggest winner of these first few days. Great TT, very little time lost in dangerous windy stages, no crashes. If he manages his losses in the next few days, he will be in a very good position for the podium.

 

[johnymax]

Not much talking about him but he's looked really good so far. I wonder how much he'll lose in the ITT on stage 9. Before the Giro he said he wants to give away less then 2 minutes to Dumo and Rogla in the three ITTs. It'll be hard because he already lost 28s to Roglic in the first stage. But I think if he manages to lose around 1:30 on stage 9, he should be happy.

 

[The Barb]

He's certainly looked very good so far.

Weirdly, given he podiumed in both, I thought he was kinda disappointing in last year's Giro and Vuelta. usually just hanging on and rarely with the legs to attack.

If he is back the climbing level he showed in the 2017 Vuelta then the last week could be spectacular.

 

[Escarabajo]

Hector Urrego from Mundo Ciclistico now saying that Superman Lopez has been sick the last couple of days. Of course we were waiting for the excuses, but who knows if what Mundo Ciclistico is saying is true.

Having said that, Lopez is known to be extra cautious in the rain in the past because of his frequent crashes early in his professional life. The flat section had a lot of roundabouts. However, He stunk big time in the climb anyway.

Hoping that He and Yates feel better for the sake of the race.

 

[Brullnux]

Seemed to really lack any sort of explosivity today, or just never went for it. Clearly was in good shape but none of his attacks even dropped caruso

 

[Escarabajo]

Lopez is a very hard person to read. He looked good but could have been at his limit. Never was dropped.

In the last week he surely can't keep anything in reserve.

 

[Escarabajo]

The cold weather and rain is not his thing. Lost too much in the TT and today went very cold towards the end. He was well covered with plenty of clothing at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya in the stage that he won. The commentators even made fun of him. He needs a better climate if he wants to improve.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I expected more from him, but he still always manages to lose 5 minutes before the last week. He'll never win a GT like that. This year he's not even gonna podium by the looks of it.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

I expected more from him, but he still always manages to lose 5 minutes before the last week. He'll never win a GT like that. This year he's not even gonna podium by the looks of it.

Hasn't really progressed beyond what he did last year, and honestly I didn't expect him to do so. Honestly think his build is just a bit too bulky to be a top climber.

 

[yaco]

Lopez and Yates have both been the disappointments thus far of the Giro - You never start Lopez in a GT when there are three ITT's - Actually Yates and Lopez should both have ridden the TDF.

 

[del1962]

Re:

Lopez and Yates have both been the disappointments thus far of the Giro - You never start Lopez in a GT when there are three GT's - Actually Yates and Lopez should both have ridden the TDF.

Did you mean three time trials?

 

[gmedina]

I wonder if trying to do well early in the year for Tour Colombia forces him to peak there and now he is not at his best here. People seem to forget that he is still young and in the white jersey...

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Re:

Lopez and Yates have both been the disappointments thus far of the Giro - You never start Lopez in a GT when there are three ITT's - Actually Yates and Lopez should both have ridden the TDF.

And yet the guy currently in pink by almost 2 mins doesn't ride a TT bike any better than Lopez does (and much worse than Yates)

 

[Escarabajo]

Well, Carapaz managed to pull a good TT. Better than the other two.

 

[Rollthedice]

Lopez is definitely out yo-yoing Froome. More dynamic, more unpredictable.

 

[Fergoose]

Glad to see there is no penalty for Superman attacking Lex Luther.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/giro-ditalia-lopez-hits-fan-after-being-knocked-from-bike-video/

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

Glad to see there is no penalty for Superman attacking Lex Luther.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/giro-ditalia-lopez-hits-fan-after-being-knocked-from-bike-video/

Puff!
Dodged a bullet.

At least we know not to mess with him!

There is a reason he is called Superman.